Some rules were made to be broken, especially when those rules were created by people trying to take control of your gadgets and internet. Here are ten ways we love to disregard authority in the name of freedom.

Dear Lifehacker, I'm concerned that I'm being monitored at work, but I'm not sure…
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9. Stop Advertisers from Tracking You

Everyone's trying to track you on the web and serve you targeted ads. If you don't like the sound of that, there are a lot of ways to keep those companies at bay. All it really takes is a few browser extensions, including an ad blocker to block the ads, Ghostery to block the tracking cookies, a script blocker for other trackers, and Do Not Track Plus that keeps third-party sites (like Facebook and Google+) from invading the one you're currently on.

It's no secret that there's big money to be made in violating your privacy. Companies…
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8. Get Free Repairs Without a Warranty

Extended warranties are rarely worth the money, and are often just a money grab on the part of the retailer or manufacturer. But, sometimes your gadget breaks—possibly through no fault of your own—when your warranty's up, and you need to get a repair. Instead of succumbing to costly repairs, you can often get the manufacturer to fix your gadget with a few simple tricks—from the built-in warranty on your credit card to more evil plans like playing dumb. Title image remixed from sirikul and DinoZ (Shutterstock).

Nothing sucks more than having a gadget break down and finding out it'll cost hundreds of…
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7. Escape Paywalls with Clever Workarounds

While everyone deserves to get paid for their work, sometimes you just need one or two articles from a paywalled source, or you go over your free quota at the end of the month. Luckily, there are quite a few tricks for getting around paywalls, the easiest being to just search out the article on Google. Other sites, like the New York Times, are popular enough that you can find a few site-specific hacks around the net that'll help you out. Of course, if you find yourself using these more than occasionally, we recommend signing up for an account, or that news source might not be around in the future.

3. Get Rid of DRM On Your Movies, Music and Ebooks

When you buy media online, it often comes protected with DRM, so you're forced only to use it in the way iTunes, Amazon, or whoever else intended. If you want to listen to your pre-2009, DRMed music on a non-Apple device, watch your movies in something other than iTunes, or read your books on a device other than your Kindle, there are ways to remove the DRM. Removing it from music usually means lowering the quality, but a number of programs can get the job done (though they do cost money). Removing it from movies requires a program too, and will usually run you about $40 to $50—though it makes up its cost if you use it enough. Kindle books are a little easier, requiring nothing but the free Calibre ebook management software to convert them to something readable. The best solution? Buy from a source that doesn't use DRM, and you'll be much happier.

We've looked at removing DRM from iTunes movies and TV shows on Windows, but what about Mac OS …
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2. Build a Hackintosh Instead of Buying a Mac

Like OS X but don't want to shell out for one of Apple's insanely expensive, uncustomizable computers? Build a desktop PC and hack it to run OS X instead. It's shockingly easy to do these days, will save you a ton of money, and give you much more room to configure your hardware and upgrade it later on. If you're looking for something more akin to a Mac Mini, you can build a small, inexpensive Hackintosh too.